This month I’m proud to announce that a very special interview of mine with globally renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall has been featured in National Geographic Kids magazine. I chatted with Dr Jane about her groundbreaking career studying chimpanzees.
An extract of our conversation; including Jane’s recount of both her favourite and funniest moments with the chimps can be heard here:
Later this month, the brand new feature-length National Geographic documentary ‘Jane‘ will have its UK release on the 24th November, and on the 27th – 29th November the Primate Society of Great Britain, of which Dr Goodall is a patron, holds its 50th anniversary meetings where Jane will be guest speaker — making the timing of this article particularly exciting!
It was a real honour to sit down with this conservation hero of mine in the incredible setting of Windsor Castle at the annual summit of Roots & Shoots.
(Part 1 of my interview, about Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots programme can be heard here).
Hearing about Jane’s determination to fulfil her dream to work with animals in Africa was endlessly fascinating and inspiring.
“When I was 10 years old I decided I wanted to go to Africa and live with wild animals and write books about them. That’s going back about 70 years ago now, and back then it didn’t happen in England that girls had those opportunities,” she tells me, as we both sip tea from china cups in this most regal and British of settings.
“So everybody laughed at me and said; ‘Jane, dream about something you can achieve’, but my mother said: ‘If you really want something, you’re going to have to work hard, take advantage of every opportunity and never give up’.”
The rest, as we know, is history. We talk through her favourite moments with her favourite chimp (David Greybeard) and some of the incredibly discoveries she observed in her camp in Gombe, Tanzania during her study for National Geographic — and the less than warm reaction she received from the scientific community at the time.
To read the full interview, see this month’s National Geographic Kids magazine.
Learn more about Dr Jane Goodall
Want to know more about Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots Awards?
- Read my discussion with Jane Goodall about the Roots and Shoots programme
- Read about the time I got to present a Roots and Shoots photography Award
- What happened when I took a Roots and Shoots #NoWasteNovember pledge
Want to know more about Great Apes?
i support your reflecting Dr jane.when you want to succed your dream,make it true,decide and start.never attempt to back .we all know that the begining is always hard,you have to persverate.your idea to compare chimps to human being is very expensive because they have life like us.
Thank you kindly for your encouraging words.
It was you, Kate, who informed me it was Dr. Jane’s 85th birthday yesterday on Instagram which is why I’m here reading this post now. Thank you for that! It’s now in my calendar as a recurring event. Live long and prosper, dear Dr. Jane!
Wow, to have interviewed my all-time favorite human in the world must have been such an honor. I’m so grateful for her work and the contribution she has made. Through her perseverance, deep love and compassion, she has shown us that we humans are not above nature and should respect all animals.
Be still my heart. Thank you Kate for showing us a snippet of her world. You’re on your own path to achieve great things move many mountains!
Wow, thank you Jess for such a lovely comment! It is also on my calendar for life too… as on Dr Jane’s 85th birthday, my son was born :). Not a day to forget anytime soon!
It was indeed an honour to speak to Dr Jane, who has the most wonderful aura! I am incredibly impressed and humbled by the work of Roots & Shoots, which truly is world-changing!